Batting trainer for inexperienced players

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a batting trainer consisting of a ball launching apparatus with a ball propulsion mechanism for propelling a ball and a training ball much lighter and smaller than a regulation baseball or softball that can train an inexperienced batter to practice hand-eye coordination on a smaller flying target for improved swing precision. The said ball launching apparatus can be in a form of a flying-ball launching toy gun, with said training ball being made of soft cellular plastic foam and having a circumference smaller than 60 mm and a weight lighter than 30 g. It will be safe for an inexperienced player to practice his/her swing with said batting trainer in a limited open space such as the backyard.

BACKGROUND—FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a batting trainer consisting of a balllaunching apparatus with a ball propulsion mechanism for propelling aball and a training ball much lighter and smaller than a regulationbaseball or softball that can train an inexperienced batter to practicehand-eye coordination on a smaller flying target for improved swingprecision, even in a limited open space such as one's backyard.

BACKGROUND—DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Hitting a baseball or softball well requires precise timing. To improvetheir swing, players must practice their swing mechanics repeatedly. Forinstance, players can practice their swing by receiving pitches from anautomatic pitching machine or hitting a ball from a tee. Both of thesepracticing techniques help to improve player's hand-eye coordination.

With the popularization of baseball sports, pitching machines areproliferated in the art. In use, a pitching machine is charged with aball. The machine ejects a ball through the air toward a batter. Thebatter attempts to hit the ball by swinging the bat along the perceivedpath of the ball. The various designs of pitching machines which arenecessary to engage a ball and to propel the ball are well known in theart (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,402,640 and 6,508,243). Nevertheless, none ofthem proved to be ideal for inexperienced young players for severalreasons. For example, the known automatic pitcher for training battersis sophisticated and expensive. It requires a vast open space so thatplayers may practice their swing only in a batting cage. Besides, suchmachine accelerates ball throw at a considerable speed, which exposesthe inexperienced players to substantial risk of being hit, even if asubstitute training ball that is lighter than a hard, heavy regulationball is used. As a result, young players build up alertness andtightness through such training instead of confidence.

Alternatively, inexpensive ball-hitting training devices were developedfor training inexperienced players (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,555,110 and6,612,943). In these training devices the baseball is either suspendedstill by a cord or on a tee. The predictable and unchangeable positionof the ball may lose player's interests soon after a few battings.

Therefore, a need has risen for a swing practicing apparatus for young,inexperienced players that can not only improve their hand-eyecoordination to enhance the swing accuracy, but also be challenging,competitive, safe and fum to play with.

In accordance with the present invention, a batting trainer forinexperienced players is provided that substantially reducesdisadvantages and problems associated with previously developedapparatus for swing improvement. The batting trainer of the presentinvention consists of a ball launching apparatus, preferably in a formof a flying-ball launching toy gun, with a ball propulsion mechanism forpropelling (or “shooting”) a ball through the air within a range ofabout 5 meters or so. The ball to be ejected from said ball launchingapparatus is a substitute training ball that is much smaller and lighterthan a 9-inch-circumference, 5-oz-weight regulation baseball. Its sizeand weight may be similar to a hollow training golf ball.

In practice, within a range of 5 meters (15 feet) or so, parent orplaymate can easily aim the flying-ball launching toy gun to preciselydeliver “pitches” over selected different areas of home plate or othertarget, with help of a ball-catching net delineated the “strike zone” ofthe player. Because of short range and small ball, traveling speed ofthe training ball becomes relatively fast on reaching the hitting zone.Meanwhile, the players have to focus on hitting a smaller flying targetat an unpredictable pitch, which simulates the feel and aerodynamicbehavior of a regulation baseball. This can significantly improve theiraccuracy on hitting a comparatively “giant” (or feeling like a“basket-ball-size”) regulation baseball in real games. In addition, sucha small, light-weight substitute ball will not sail when pitched hard orhit hard. The risk of body injury or property damage in a confined areahas diminished. Further, the time needed to recover the hit balls isminimal, which can increase the number of repetitions that a player canachieve. The batting trainer of the present invention enablesinexperienced players to practice hitting at a small playing area suchas their backyards.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a battingtrainer for inexperienced players that is challenging, competitive, safeand fun to play with.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a battingtrainer for inexperienced players to improve their hand-eye coordinationfor significantly increased hitting accuracy.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple andeasy-to-install, maintenance-free batting trainer, with which it is safeto play everywhere.

These objectives are achieved by a batting trainer consisting of a balllaunching apparatus with a ball propulsion mechanism for propelling aball and a training ball that is much lighter and smaller than aregulation baseball or softball.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willhereinafter become apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing description.

DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a cutaway perspective view of one embodiment of the presentinvention in a form of a flying-ball launching toy gun on a supportingbase with a ball feeder. Reference Numerals in Drawings 11 Launch barrel12 Loading knob 13 Running block 14 Coil spring 15 Locking/unlockingmeans 16 Trigger 21 Training ball 22 Ball feeder 31 Support base 32 Linkshaft 41 Aiming aid

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention, a safe, challenging and fun toplay batting trainer for inexperienced players consists of a balllaunching apparatus, preferably in the form of a flying-ball launchingtoy gun, with a ball propulsion mechanism for propelling a ball throughthe air within a range of about 5 meters or so. The ball to be ejectedfrom said ball launching apparatus is a substitute training ball that ismuch smaller and lighter than a 9-inch-circumference 5-oz-weightregulation baseball. The size and weight of said training ball may besimilar to a hollow training golf ball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a cutaway perspective view of one embodiment of the presentinvention, in which a ball launching apparatus is designed to be in theform of a flying-ball launching toy gun. The shape of a toy gun ischosen simply because all young, inexperienced baseball players arefamiliar with a similar toy gun and know how it will operate. It mayremove their fears to start with and add much fun into their practice.

The flying-ball launching toy gun comprises a body with a launch barrel(11) and a loading knob (12) that is displaceable along the launchbarrel for bringing the running block (13) into the pre-shootingposition. A coil spring (14) is used to cause the running block to movefrom the rear pre-shooting position to the front post-shooting positionso that the training ball (21) can be launched forward. One end of thecoil spring is fixed to the launch barrel and the other end is fixed tothe running block.

A locking/unlocking means (15) is used for locking the running block inthe pre-shooting position and unlocking the running block so as to movetoward the post-shooting position. Meanwhile, a trigger (16) isinstalled at the body for pivotal movement about a hinge shaft, a lockeroperably connected with the trigger and having a locking protrusion, acatching hook formed on the running block to catching the lockingprotrusion of the locker.

The above described ball launching apparatus is designed to shoot atraining ball (21) that is much smaller and lighter than the hard, heavyregulation baseball, which is 9 inches (73 mm) in circumference and 5ounces (140 g) in weight. The preferable size and weight of the trainingball may be similar to that of a hollow training golf ball. The trainingball can be fed into the launching body through a ball feeder (22) thatmay hold up to 10 or more balls. The whole flying-ball launching bodyassembly can be mounted on a support base (31), or a tripod, through anadjustable-height link shaft (32) to increase stability of delivering ashooting pitch. An aiming aid (41) is installed to help preciselydeliver “pitches” over selected different areas of home plate or othertarget. A commercially available ball-catching net delineated the“strike zone” can be placed behind the player to improve the accuracy ofshooting the ball at targeted zone, intentionally to pitch either astrike or a fault ball.

The ball propulsion mechanism of the present invention is specificallydesigned for propelling a ball through the air within a short range ofabout 5 meters (15 feet) or so. This can be done by selecting a launcherdriven by coil spring with a force constant capable of doing so. Ofcourse, the launching mechanism can also be pneumatically powered bycompressed air, gas or the like. The launching can be automated. Thevarious components of a pneumatic device for firing projectiles with acharge of compressed air that accelerates a projectile through a barrelare well known in the art and are not detailed herein.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

According to the present invention, a safe, challenging and fun to playbatting trainer for inexperienced players consists of a ball launchingapparatus with a ball propulsion mechanism for propelling a ball and atraining ball much lighter and smaller than a regulation baseball orsoftball that can train an inexperienced batter to practice hand-eyecoordination on a smaller flying target for improved swing precision.

The invention has been described above. Obviously, numerousmodifications and variations of the present invention are possible inlight of the above teachings. Such variations are not to be regarded asa departure from the spirit and scope of the invention and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intendedto be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. A batting trainer comprising: a ball launching apparatus with a ballpropulsion mechanism for propelling a ball; and a training ball, saidtraining ball being smaller and lighter than a regulation baseball orsoftball.
 2. The batting trainer according to claim 1, wherein said balllaunching apparatus is a flying-ball launching toy gun.
 3. The battingtrainer according to claim 1, wherein said ball propulsion mechanism forpropelling a ball is mechanically driven by coil spring.
 4. The battingtrainer according to claim 1, wherein said ball propulsion mechanism forpropelling a ball is mechanically driven by compressed air.
 5. Thebatting trainer according to claim 1, wherein said ball propulsionmechanism for propelling a ball is mechanically driven by compressedgas.
 6. The batting trainer according to claim 1, wherein said trainingball has a circumference smaller than 60 mm (millimeters) and a weightlighter than 30 g (grams).
 7. The batting trainer according to claim 1,wherein said training ball is made of soft cellular plastic foam.
 8. Thebatting trainer according to claim 1, wherein said training ball ishollow and consists of a spherical plastic shell.
 9. A method fortraining inexperienced batters to practice hand-eye coordination and forthereby improving their swing and targeting of the ball comprising:providing a ball launching apparatus with a ball propulsion mechanismfor propelling a ball; and providing a training ball, said training ballhaving a circumference smaller than 60 mm (millimeters) and a weightlighter than 30 g (grams).
 10. The batting training method according toclaim 9, wherein said ball launching apparatus is a flying-balllaunching toy gun.